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“Some good learning moments for our boys”

Posted in Boys Basketball, tagged Boys Basketball, CHS Wolves, Hunter Bronec, JV, La Conner, season finale on February 10, 2022| Leave a Comment »

Hunter Bronec tossed in six points Thursday in the JV season finale. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

For eight minutes they were unstoppable.

Unfortunately, high school basketball games are 32 minutes long, and the Coupeville JV boys cooled off a bit after a torrid start Thursday and got caught from behind.

Up 13-2 at the first break, the Wolves eventually fell 44-38 in a hard-fought clash at La Conner.

The loss, coming in the JV season finale, drops Coupeville’s young guns to 1-6 in Northwest 2B/1B League play, 3-8 overall.

In the opening moments it looked like the Wolves couldn’t be stopped.

CHS gunner Ryan Blouin knocked down back-to-back three-balls to open the game, while La Conner didn’t even get a shot up until the 5:42 mark of the first quarter.

Add Hunter Bronec driving and dishing to Zane Oldenstadt for a layup, another Blouin trey, and two free throws from Hurlee Bronec and the Wolves were sizzlin’.

And then it all went away for a bit.

La Conner finally found its rhythm, opening the second quarter with a 9-0 run that set the Wolves back on their heels.

Coupeville stopped the bleeding for a bit thanks to a putback from William Davidson and Blouin’s fourth three-ball of the half, but the Braves kept chipping away.

A turnaround jumper from La Conner gave the host team its first lead of the game, at 19-18 heading into the halftime break, though CHS answered on the first play of the second half.

Nick Guay slashed to the hoop for a bucket and free throw after getting hacked in the head on the play, and the Wolves had a short-lived 21-19 advantage.

Short-lived because La Conner rained down the next 11 points, effectively taking control of the game.

The Wolves continued to scrap, however, carving the deficit back to 33-31 midway through the fourth quarter.

Quinten Simpson-Pilgrim drained a short jumper, on a play set up by Davidson yanking a rebound free, and that capped a 6-0 Wolf surge.

La Conner had an answer, however, driving a stake through Coupeville’s heart with a long three-ball, before closing out the win at the free-throw line.

Afterwards, Wolf coach Hunter Smith was philosophical about the defeat.

“Would’ve liked to come away with the win, but definitely some good learning moments for our boys today,” he said.

Quinten Simpson-Pilgrim and Bronec give a rival player few options.

Blouin paced Coupeville with 13 points, while Davidson banked in a season-high eight and Hunter Bronec popped for six.

Guay (5), Simpson-Pilgrim (2), Oldenstadt (2), and Hurlee Bronec (2) also scored, with Mikey Robinett, Jack Porter, Landon Roberts, and Johnny Porter seeing floor time.

Robinett was a force on the defensive end for the Wolves, sweeping down rebounds and forcing turnovers.

Final season scoring stats:

Nick Guay – 79
Ryan Blouin – 74
Hunter Bronec – 74
Zane Oldenstadt – 38
Mikey Robinett – 30
Hurlee Bronec – 27
Quinten Simpson-Pilgrim – 24
William Davidson – 18
Jack Porter – 15
Johnny Porter – 8
Landon Roberts – 8
Carson Field – 2

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JV girls fight until final moment

Posted in Girls Basketball, tagged CHS Wolves, girls basketball, JV, La Conner, Madison McMillan, season finale on February 10, 2022| Leave a Comment »

Freshman Madison McMillan led the Wolf JV in scoring this season. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

Playing from behind is tough.

The Coupeville High School JV girls basketball team got stronger as the game went on Thursday but couldn’t catch host La Conner.

Despite outscoring the Braves in the second half, the young Wolves ultimately fell 32-22 in their season finale.

The loss leaves Coupeville’s final record at 3-4 in Northwest 2B/1B League play, 3-8 overall.

The Wolves hit the floor ready to rumble, fighting for rebounds and loose balls, but an ice-cold shooting touch in the early going made things tough.

The ball skipped off the rim, rolled around and popped back out, and thoroughly failed to cooperate with Coupeville’s shooters as they slipped behind 7-0.

Kayla Arnold put a rebound back up and in to finally crack the scoreless run, but by then nearly six minutes had been erased from the clock.

Trailing 9-2 at the first break, the Wolves got buckets from Brooklyn Thayer and Madison McMillan in the second quarter, but the deficit widened to 19-6 by halftime.

The break seemed to help, however, as Coupeville battled La Conner even through a 9-9 third quarter, before claiming dominance in a game-closing 7-4 surge in the fourth.

Desi Ramirez-Vasquez had the hot hand in the second half, draining a pair of three-balls.

The first one was set up by a nice kick-out pass from Skylar Parker, while the second one was all Desi, all day.

The sophomore sparkplug stole the ball, beat a mad path down court, then suddenly slammed on the brakes and banked home a three-ball from somewhere deep in the parking lot, earning some oohs and ahs.

Desi Ramirez-Vasquez played strongly on both ends of the floor in Thursday’s finale.

Coupeville’s defense was key in the late game run, with Mia Farris and Jada Heaton both coming up with big plays to thwart the La Conner offense.

Ramirez-Vasquez led the Wolves with six points, while Thayer and McMillan backed her up with four apiece.

Katie Marti, Farris, Arnold, and Heaton all chipped in with a bucket, while Bryley Gilbert, Parker, and Reese Wilkinson also saw floor time.

Final season scoring stats:

Madison McMillan – 66
Katie Marti – 52
Brooklyn Thayer – 38
Gwen Gustafson – 32
Desi Ramirez-Vasquez – 32
Mia Farris – 19
Skylar Parker – 19
Kayla Arnold – 18
Reese Wilkinson – 13
Lyla Stuurmans – 12
Bryley Gilbert – 7
Jada Heaton – 7
Nezi Keiper – 3
Edie Bittner – 2
Yodnum Nakakul – 2

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“The eagle is our guardian”

Posted in Everything changes, tagged Braves, Jeanette Quintasket, La Conner, logo change, Swinomish Indian Tribal Community on January 27, 2022| Leave a Comment »

The La Conner School District has adopted a new mascot.

They’re still the Braves, but with a war eagle replacing a Native American in a headdress.

One of Coupeville’s primary athletic rivals has a new mascot.

Honoring the wishes of the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community, the La Conner School District has replaced a Plains Indian wearing a feather headdress with a war eagle designed by a member of its alumni.

Jeanette Quintasket, a tribal member who graduated as part of the Class of 2018, crafted the image which topped 38 submissions.

When House Bill 1356 was implemented, it banned the use of Native American names, symbols, or images by public schools.

An exception could be made for school districts whose enrollment boundaries include what the law terms “Indian Country.”

The Swinomish approved La Conner retaining use of the Braves name for its sports teams, but requested the outdated logo be replaced.

The submissions were voted on by students, staff, alumni and community members.

Quintasket crafted her design with an eye on her heritage, she told the Skagit Valley Herald.

“I am Swinomish, so in our culture, the eagle is our guardian,” she was quoted as saying. “It represents our spiritual connection to our ancestors.”

The new mascot was officially approved at Monday’s school board meeting, with Quintasket honored for her creativity.

The La Conner school district and the Swinomish have a long history together, dating to the early 1900’s, when tribal children began attending La Conner schools.

Current numbers from the state’s Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction list 34% of La Conner students as Native American.

Two of five school board members are Swinomish tribal members, while Superintendent Will Nelson is also Native American.

While using the Braves name for its sports teams, La Conner also incorporates the moniker in other ways, with the district motto being “Be brave.”

District schools have worked to keep Swinomish tribal heritage as a vital part of their curriculum, with drumming, carving, and Lushootseed language classes offered to both tribal and non-tribal students.

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Wolves pile up hoops wins

Posted in Basketball, tagged Basketball, CHS Wolves, La Conner, league standings, Northwest League on January 23, 2022| Leave a Comment »

Caleb Meyer rolls to the hoop. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

CHS girls basketball coaches survey the action.

It was an undefeated week.

Not a perfect week, as the Coupeville High School varsity girls basketball team had to postpone two of its four games.

But when the Wolves did take the floor, whether it was the boys or girls, both varsity squads KO’d every contender.

The CHS boys picked up four wins to stretch their unbeaten streak to 11 games, while the Wolf girls rebounded to drill Concrete and South Whidbey after waving off Darrington and Friday Harbor.

The week ahead is a little slower, with the boys set to travel to Mount Vernon Christian Thursday, Jan. 27, then trek to Granite Falls two days later.

The girls have just one game, and it’s a recent addition to the schedule — a journey up Island to play Oak Harbor next Saturday.

Where things stand through games of Jan. 22:

Northwest League boys basketball:

School	League	Overall
Coupeville	8-0	11-0
MV Christian	5-1	9-3
La Conner	2-2	4-8
Orcas Island	2-2	4-4
Friday Harbor	2-4	4-6
Darrington	1-4	3-6
Concrete	0-7	1-11

Northwest League girls basketball:

School	League	Overall
La Conner	7-0	13-1
MV Christian	6-1	11-2
Coupeville	4-3	6-4
Orcas Island	2-2	3-5
Friday Harbor	2-4	3-7
Darrington	1-4	3-6
Concrete	0-8	2-11

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Wolf boys atop league standings

Posted in Basketball, standings, tagged Basketball, CHS Wolves, La Conner, Mount Vernon Christian, Northwest League, standings on January 9, 2022| Leave a Comment »

Alex Murdy and Co. are outjumping all opponents. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

It was the perfect storm, if you wanted very few games played.

The aftereffects of snow and ice mixed with the never-ending pandemic shuffle to keep most Northwest 2B/1B League basketball teams off the court this past week.

On the boys side of things, only one of nine scheduled games was actually played, with Coupeville running La Conner off the floor.

Things were slightly more active for girls hoops squads, with an emphasis on the word slightly.

La Conner KO’d Coupeville’s girls, while Mount Vernon Christian blasted Concrete a few days later.

Then, Saturday night, La Conner broke triple-digits, shellacking Concrete in a savage 104-14 win.

Other than that, six of nine scheduled games failed to have a tip-off.

The week ahead is pretty barren, as well, at least for Coupeville, which currently only has one set of games on the schedule.

The Wolves host MVC Tuesday, Jan. 11, with the boys game a showdown for sole possession of first-place in the NWL.

After that, barring pesky Covid positives, or frogs raining down from the skies, CHS goes full-tilt, with four games in five days between Jan. 18-22.

Maybe.

Until then, here are where things stand through games of Jan. 8:

Northwest League boys basketball: